Retail is a competitive business, and there is no shortage of places to shop for groceries, but representatives of Randall’s and Atkins say paying attention to details, providing good customer service and offering unusual attractions are what keep customers coming.

Both are institutions in their communities, make popular apple cider doughnuts and offer a plethora of locally made goods and produce. Atkins is at work on a major expansion, having received a $3 million state-supported bond for its project to add retail and warehouse space.

Randall’s owner Karen A. Randall says her family’s original store was in the building that now houses Elsie’s Creamery, which is named after her mother and features homemade ice cream. The business was started as a farm stand in the 1950s by her father, William Randall, and featured fresh, local fruit and produce, eggs and chicken, most grown on the farm’s 80 acres.

Karen Randall took over the Center Street business in 1997, the same year it expanded with a 20,000-square-foot store and greenhouse and garden center. It is still a family operation. Elsie Randall does the books for the creamery and opens the store some days.

Karen Randall’s sisters also work there – Tammy Marquis, who oversees the bakery and deli, and Anna Arciszewski, who handles the gourmet and gluten-free foods and the front-end operation.

“We felt the recession, but we’ve worked really hard as a company,” Karen Randall said. “The last two seasons have been good for us. The garden center is less busy. I think people have less disposable income. But, the bakery, deli and prepared food are continuing to grow.”

As people’s lives becomes busier, Randall believes customers are looking for quick, easy-to-prepare meals, and Randall’s has an excellent homemade product, she said, noting that their chicken pot pies sell well on Wednesdays. Randall’s features a large selection of gluten-free foods which has become popular, she said.

“Diversity has kept us in business,” she said. “We have something for everyone. We make cider doughnuts every day fresh year-round.”

Randall sees the business continuing to flourish in the years to come; she said they work to adjust to consumer trends as they happen. One of those trends is buying local, and Randall’s benefits from being a local business offering local products, said Randall.

“It’s a big movement,” she said. “People care about where their food comes from, and keeping jobs local.”

Until 2000, Randall’s grew most of its own fruits and vegetables, but they now rely on the produce and products – like locally made jams, jellies and salsa – produced across Western Massachusetts. Randall’s Farm is starting to feature local wines and beers.

At Atkins Farm at Bay Road and Route 116, co-owner Pauline A. Lannon says her business started in 1962 selling apples. Over the years, offerings expanded, and their focus changed.

Atkins now also sells flowers and meats, has a deli and bakery and offers organic and specialty foods. They also still have orchards in Belchertown where they grow their apples, peaches and pears on 60 acres.

They are seeing the economy shape buying habits; for example, Lannon said, customers were buying smaller gift baskets over the holidays.

“We’re fortunate that people do still shop here,” Lannon said. “They have to eat, and we have a loyal following.”

While Atkins’ summer sales were down, they have since picked back up and are in line with where they should be, Lannon said.

Like Randall’s Farm, Atkins works to market local products, like milk from Mapleline Farms in Hadley. “We grow our own fruit and purchase a lot of locally grown product that we don’t grow. Customers appreciate that,” Lannon said.

“They also appreciate the fact that they have someone to talk to. We’re here. We answer our phones,” said Atkins’ marketing manager Jennifer L. Adams. Offering activities for children, like a spring Easter egg hunt and visits by Santa Claus, are part of Atkins’ efforts to build on their customers’ fond memories of coming to Atkins as children and now bringing their own kids, Adams said.

“We’re part of the community. We are concerned about what happens in the community,” Lannon said. “For the most part we have a good following, but it doesn’t come easily. We try our hardest to maintain the business that we do have and to keep our customers happy.”

Atkins has begun an expansion which was prompted by the impending reconstruction of Route 116. Atkins’ barn, which was used for storage, was demolished for the road project, and the business needed warehouse space. In December, Atkins received a $3 million Recovery Zone Bond issued by MassDevelopment to finance addition of a 10,000-square-foot warehouse and 3,000-square-feet of retail space in the main building. The store will be reorganized, and there are plans to add an all-season grill and ice-cream shop.

According to the state Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development, the tax free bonds allow businesses to borrow at interest rates 1 to 1.5 points lower than what is available elsewhere.

Customers at both Atkins and Randall’s say the markets deliver to their needs.

Shopper Barbara L. Fisher, of South Hadley, said she likes everything about Atkins, from its size to the fresh food and the doughnuts. “It’s a friendly place,” she said.

Patricia A. McChesney, of Amherst, said she’s shopped at Atkins for about five years. “They really care about their customers and the products that they sell. The food, it’s all good. I like the chocolate cannoli. Their produce is the best in the area,” McChesney said.

Karen Randall says many of her family’s customers “have watched me grow up, and I’ve watched their children grow up.”

Ludlow Police Sgt. Louis E. Tulik is among them; he even worked at Randall’s 25 years ago.

“This is an institution in Ludlow. I love it. I know the food is prepared well. Everything is just fantastic,” he said. “You can’t go wrong with the pies, Boston creme pie, strawberry rhubarb. I’m here all the time. I like the summer when the locally grown fruits and vegetables are available.”